Thursday, October 31, 2013

Amend Repressive Draft Assembly Law

October 30, 2013

(New York) – A draft law on assembly awaiting
ratification by the interim president would effectively give the police
carte blanche to ban protest in Egypt.
The bill would ban all demonstrations near official buildings, give the
police absolute discretion to ban any other protest, and allow officers
to forcibly disperse overall peaceful protests if even a single
protester throws a stone.

The bill would also require organizers to notify the police in advance
of any public meeting of more than 10 people in a private or public
place. It would allow the police to ban these meetings, which could
severely restrict the freedom of assembly of political parties and
nongovernmental groups, Human Rights Watch said.

“This draft law would effectively mandate the police to ban all
protests outright and to use force to disperse ongoing protests,” said Sarah Leah Whitson,
Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The final law will be an
important indicator of the extent to which the new government is going
to allow for political space in Egypt.”

Human Rights Watch reviewed the October 21 draft of the Law on the
Right to Public Meetings, Processions and Peaceful Demonstrations. As it
stands, the draft law falls far short of Egypt’s obligation to respect
freedom of assembly under the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), Human Rights Watch said.

On October 10, 2013, the cabinet approved the assembly law drafted by
the Justice Ministry and sent it to the interim president for
ratification. Under the July 8 Constitutional Declaration, the interim
president, Adly Mansour, has full legislative powers.

After a week of rare public criticism of the draft law from political
parties and human rights groups, Prime Minister Hazem Beblawy said in an
interview on Egyptian CBC TV on October 20 that the government was open
to amending the law and had sent it to the National Council for Human
Rights for comments. However, Beblawy also said that the right to
assembly must not “disturb the authorities” or threaten security, and
that the “police today enjoy more popular respect and support than any
other time previously.”

The draft law is a revision of the assembly law the Shura Council
discussed for four months during the presidency of Mohamed Morsy. Human
Rights Watch and others had criticized that draft as deeply restrictive.

The new draft includes a few small improvements, limiting the way in
which police could use force to disperse protests and requiring the
force used to be proportionate to the threat. But those provisions also
state that the police could use lethal force in “legitimate
self-defense,” which under Egyptian law is broadly defined to grant
police discretion to use lethal force in circumstances other than those
strictly necessary to protect life.

However, the draft law also includes many provisions that are more
restrictive than in previous drafts, including requiring organizers to
give advance notification of any public meeting of 10 people or more, or
any public protest. The draft law would also allow police to disperse
an assembly on vague grounds, such as that those gathered are trying to
“influence the course of justice” or are impeding “citizens’ interests.”
This means that political parties and other groups wishing to hold open
meetings in the privacy of their offices would have to notify the
Interior Ministry and risk an outright ban on the meeting.

“One of the few rights protections in the 2012 constitution was a ban
on security agents appearing at private meetings,” Whitson said. “This
law would reverse that, and truly strangle what’s left of independent
political life in Egypt.”

Under the new law, organizers of protests or meetings of 10 or more
people would have to inform the Interior Ministry at least a week in
advance. The ministry could then ban the protest or meeting without
providing any justification. Although article 11 of the draft law states
that protest or meeting organizers could appeal a police ban before the
courts, no time frame is specified, meaning that the court could hear
the appeal after the scheduled date of the event.

The law would include an outright ban on sit-ins and on any
demonstrations that come within 100 meters of any official executive,
legislative, or judicial building in the country, effectively moving
protesters out of the sight and hearing of the officials they seek to
influence, Human Rights Watch said.

It also includes vague language on prohibited types of assembly,
including those that would “impede the interests of citizens,” or seek
to “influence the course of justice,” which could be interpreted to ban
meetings of many groups.

Most problematically, article 6 of the draft law would allow police to
disperse a protest by force, even if one protester commits a crime,
which in effect would amount to collective punishment of protesters,
Human Rights Watch said. Article 6 would also ban protesters from
wearing masks or covering their faces. That would clearly discriminate
against Egyptian women who wear the niqab, a garment worn by some Muslim
women that covers the face.

In February, Human Rights Watch submitted a letter to the Justice Ministry with recommendations to
bring the earlier version of the draft law in line with international
law, but the ministry did not make the suggested changes before
submitting the law for approval. The draft grew more restrictive during
discussions in the Shura Council. In one of the council’s final
sessions, on June 24, the drafting committee changed a
requirement for the interior minister to seek an order from a judge if
he wished to ban a demonstration, giving the minister the right to ban
or postpone a demonstration without providing justification.

Egypt’s current protest laws, the Illegal Assembly Law of 1914, Law 10
of 1914, and Public Assembly Act No. 14 of 1923, are very restrictive
and effectively allowed the police under former President Hosni Mubarak
to ban public protests. Under the emergency law currently in force, the
authorities have the right to ban protests, though they have not thus
far invoked these provisions. Egypt’s current state of emergency will
expire on November 14 and cannot be extended except through a popular
referendum.

For more detail about problematic provisions in the draft law, please see the following.

Key Concerns in the Draft Assembly LawUnder international law, any restriction on the right to
peaceful assembly must be limited to what is necessary and
proportionate: the manner and intensity of state interference must be
necessary to attain a legitimate purpose, and the prohibition or
forceful dispersion of an assembly may only be considered when milder
means have failed.

Scope of Application
One of the most problematic aspects of the draft law is the stipulation
in article 2 that the law, including the notification requirements and
the right for police to disperse assemblies, shall apply to “public
meetings,” which it defines as “every assembly of individuals in a
public or private place to which anyone can enter without a previous
personal invitation.” This effectively prohibits political parties or
other groups from holding meetings, news conferences, or seminars on
their premises unless they notify the police a week in advance. Articles
3 and 4 state that the provisions of the law shall apply to any
non-political procession or any political protest of more than 10
people.

Overly Broad Restrictions on Legitimate Assembly
The UN Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has stated that, “In adopting
laws providing for restrictions … States should always be guided by the
principle that the restrictions must not impair the essence of the right
... the relation between right and restriction, between norm and
exception, must not be reversed.” Egypt’s draft assembly law goes well
beyond any permissible restrictions on public assembly under
international law.

Article 5 would ban public assembly in places of
worship “for any purpose other than prayer,” and would ban processions
leading toward places of worship. This provision is overly broad,
covering a whole host of social gatherings that take place on the
grounds of churches and mosques in Egypt, and, as worded, could even
affect religious ceremonies such as funeral processions.

Article 16 would ban any protests from taking place
within a 100 to 300-meter radius of any government building, legislative
council, any police or military building, court, hospital, airport,
educational institution, public facility, embassy, museum or any other
place designated by local governors.

Article 22 would establish a penalty of imprisonment
and a fine of 50,000 to 100,000 Egyptian pounds (US$7,200 to $14,500)
for any violation of this provision.

The long list of buildings set out in this provision, along with the
100 to 300-meter-radius requirement, and the stipulation that the
government may add any other buildings to the list, is not consistent
with international law because it sets overly broad limitations on the
right to peaceful assembly. These restrictions are neither narrowly
construed nor proportionate. While in some circumstances banning a
demonstration within 200 meters of a particular building might be
appropriate, such as in the case of a protest near a sensitive military
building, it is unlawful for governments to impose blanket bans of the
type envisaged under article 16 to prevent public gatherings or
demonstrations outside such a wide range of government and public
buildings.

Governments may take measures to protect the security of public
buildings and those who work in or use them and to ensure access to
hospitals and places of worship. But a notification requirement should
be sufficient to facilitate such measures, and would allow the
authorities to require demonstrators to alter their route if there are
clear, specific, and proportionate grounds to do so.

The UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and association said in his May 2012 report that demonstrations must be
facilitated within “sight and sound” of the demonstration’s object and
target audience, and that “organizers of peaceful assemblies should not
be coerced to follow the authorities’ suggestions if these would
undermine the essence of their right to freedom of peaceful assembly.”
He warned against limiting the venue for a demonstration to the
outskirts of the city or a specific, out-of-the-way square, where its
impact would be muted.

Vague Language as Basis for DispersalArticle 7 says that the right to public
assembly could not include sit-ins, “impeding the interests of
citizens,” or “influencing the course of justice.” The use of these
terms is conspicuously overly broad and open to wide interpretation:
“influencing the course of justice” could lead to the dispersal of any
protests calling for the release of political prisoners or the
prosecution of security officials. In addition, anoutright ban on all
sit-ins would be a violation of the right to peaceful assembly.

Article 7 also lists crimes including assault and the destruction of
public or private property as limitations on public assembly. While laws
can stipulate that the right to assembly is limited by “public order,”
it is redundant to list crimes such as “attacks on individuals or their
properties” in this context because such acts of violence are already
clearly criminalized in the penal code.

Article 11 states that the Interior Ministry could ban
an assembly if it received information that any of the organizers or
participants planned to commit any of the acts set out in article 7.

Article 12 further states that the police would be
allowed to disperse a demonstration if any participant in the assembly
committed an offense under this law.

Article 6 would ban protesters from “carrying weapons
or explosives or firecrackers,” or “any tools or substances that could
endanger or harm individuals or buildings.” Article 19 would set out a
penalty of 10 years in prison and 300,000 to 500,000 Egyptian pounds
($43,500 to $72,500) for anyone who “obtains or carries a weapon,
explosives, ammunition, or flammable substances while participating in a
meeting, procession or demonstration.” Article 20 would establish an
additional penalty of imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 to 300,000
Egyptian pounds ($14,500 to $43,500) for anyone who provides funding or
support to organize protests with the intention of committing the
offenses listed in article 6.

Excessive Notification RequirementArticle 8 would require organizers to notify the local
police station in writing seven days ahead of any planned public
meeting, demonstration, or procession involving more than 10 people. An
earlier draft of the law required notification only 24 hours in advance.

Article 10 states that the police shall “establish
measures and guarantees to secure public meetings and demonstrations,”
without stipulating that the measures may not include further
restrictions on assembly.

The government has the right to regulate the use of public space for
demonstrations by requiring reasonable advance notification. However,
seven days is excessive, and the provision should also include a
procedure for exceptions in cases of urgent and spontaneous assembly, or
when the number of demonstrators is unlikely to impede traffic or
public order. For example, when a US-led coalition of military forces
attacked Iraq in March 2003, many Egyptians gathered spontaneously in
Tahrir Square in central Cairo to voice their protest.

The UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and of association stated in his May 2012 report that, “A notification
should be subject to a proportionality assessment, not unduly
bureaucratic and be required a maximum of, for example, 48 hours prior
to the day the assembly is planned to take place.” The requirement for
notification a week in advance is worse than the three-day requirement
under the current assembly law No. 14 of 1923, which dates back to
British occupation.

Police Discretion to Ban AssembliesArticle 11 would give Interior Ministry officials full
discretion to ban a public assembly, merely on the basis of “serious
information” that the organizers intended to commit” one of the offenses
listed in article 7 or any other crime.” The provision would impose no
limitation on police officials’ right to ban assemblies, nor would it
require them to justify their decision.

Under international law, any notification system must not restrict the
essence of the right to assembly. Giving the Interior Ministry absolute
discretion to object to any public assembly on the basis of secret
information would be tantamount to turning a notification system into a
requirement for permission. To fully protect the right to assembly, the
law should require the authorities to apply to a court to prohibit any
demonstration and to provide evidentiary reasons that meet the narrow
requirements of international law, rather than requiring organizers to
give notification, Human Rights Watch said.

The article would place no requirement for a timely response by a judge
hearing an appeal on a decision to ban a protest or assembly within the
seven-day period, creating further uncertainty about the legal status
of a demonstration. The law would also fail to provide exceptions for
smaller demonstrations that would not cause disruption, or for urgent
and spontaneous demonstrations in response to news, Human Rights Watch
said.

Discrimination against Women Who Cover Their FacesArticle 6 would ban wearing masks or any face covering, and article 22
would set out a penalty of imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 100,00
Egyptian pounds ($7,250 to $14,500) for anyone who attended a meeting,
protest, or procession wearing a mask or face covering. This provision
was first included in earlier versions of the draft protest law under
Morsy.

When asked about this in a live interview in January on the
Egyptian TV station CBC, Justice Minister Ahmed Mekki responded that
women who wear the niqab should “stay at home.” This provision would
discriminate against women who choose to wear the niqab, preventing them from participating in public meetings or protests, Human Rights Watch said.

Germany and other countries have laws that prohibit demonstrators from
“wearing masks or covering the face,” but in all cases any such measure
imposed on grounds of promoting public order must be both necessary and
non-discriminatory.

In Egypt, where many women wear the niqab lawfully
in public, the government cannot legitimately impose such a broad
prohibition, as this would inevitably have a discriminatory impact. It
would prevent many women from exercising their right to participate in
peaceful demonstrations, and also contravene their rights to freedom of
opinion, religion, and expression. Discriminating against women who wear
the niqab would outweigh the public order limitation in this case, and
such a restriction should not be imposed.

Mohamed Youssef wore shirt with yellow Rabaa logo widely used by supporters of deposed president at medals ceremony

Tuesday 29 October 2013

Patrick Kingsley

Egypt's
kung fu champion has been suspended by his national federation for
wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a symbol associated with opposition to
the Egypt's army-backed interim government.

Mohamed Youssef is the latest Egyptian to be censored for wearing the yellow Rabaa sign – a four-fingered salute that honours the hundreds of Islamists killed during August's Rabaa al-Adawiya massacre – as authorities attempt to stamp out opposition Islamist movements.

Youssef
wore the T-shirt as judges presented him with a gold medal at an
international championship in Russia. In response, a spokesman for
Egypt's kung fu association told state media that Youssef had been flown
home early, suspended from competition and barred from taking part in a
kung fu tournament next month in Malaysia.

Egypt's establishment appears to be deeply irked by the Rabaa symbol, which has been drawn on walls across the country and displayed by supporters of the deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi since the August massacre.

Three men were arrested in September for creating T-shirts carrying the symbol, while a schoolboy was later photographed being detained while forming a version of the logo with his right hand.

The
sign has gained currency among Islamists across the world, with many
overseas supporters of Morsi displaying it on their social media
profiles, or in person at protests. Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
has also been pictured displaying the four-fingered salute.

In Jordan,
an ally of Egypt's new secular-minded regime, three protesters were
arrested for carrying a version of the symbol – an act, a Jordanian
official said, "that would harm Jordan's relations with a brotherly Arab
country".

The non-religious nature of the Rabaa sign has
been perceived as an attempt to appeal to secular opponents of Egypt's
military-backed government, but so far it used almost exclusively by
Islamist supporters of Morsi.

The government crackdown on
displaying the symbol has been interpreted as part of a wider campaign
to drive Morsi's backers from the public arena. More than 1,000 of his
supporters have been killed by state officials since his overthrow in
July, and thousands more have been arrested and detained without charge.

Under
the current interim government, police have also raided the offices of
several well known secular activists, and others have been smeared by state newspapers.

On
Tuesday, Egyptian media reported that the attorney general had launched
an investigation into the country's best-known television satirist,
Bassem Youssef, only four days after the comedian returned to the
airwaves for the first time since Morsi was ousted.

Bassem
Youssef's spokesman told the Guardian there had been no official
confirmation of the news, but should it be confirmed, it would mark a
much swifter censorship of the comedian than under Morsi.

Suez Canal University filed a complaint against a 20 year-old commerce student who started a Facebook group for atheists

Monday, Oct. 28, 2013

National security officials in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia are
conducting investigations into a university student who allegedly set-up
a Facebook group calling for atheism.

Police arrested the 20-year old student of the Faculty of Commerce,
Suez Canal University, following a report submitted by the university's
administration saying he had formed a group for atheists on the social
networking site.

The accused student appeared before the prosecution, who transferred him to national security for further investigation.

In
December 2012, an Egyptian court sentenced activist Alber Saber to
three years in jail for posting the anti-Islamic film Innocence of
Muslims on his Facebook page. He was released after paying bail.

Article 98 of Egypt's penal code says anyone convicted of offending religion in any form can face up to six years in prison.

17 October 2013

The Egyptian authorities must end their appalling policy of unlawfully
detaining and forcibly returning hundreds of refugees who have fled the
armed conflict in Syria, said Amnesty International.

Following
the deaths in recent weeks of refugees and asylum-seekers crossing the
Mediterranean from North Africa, a short report published by Amnesty
International today, ‘We cannot live here any more’: Refugees from Syria
in Egypt, throws a spotlight on the tragic consequences of Egypt’s
hardline stance towards refugees from Syria.

More and more refugees are
risking their lives to make the treacherous journey by sea to Europe –
often paying smugglers up to US$3,500 each to make the trip.

“The
Egyptian authorities have a duty to provide protection to anyone who
has fled the conflict in Syria and is seeking safe refuge in their
country. At present Egypt is failing abysmally to meet its international
obligations to protect even the most vulnerable refugees,” said Sherif
Elsayed Ali, Amnesty International’s Head of Refugee and Migrants’
Rights.

“Instead of offering vital help and support to refugees
from Syria the Egyptian authorities are arresting and deporting them,
flouting human rights standards. Most refugees lost their homes and
livelihoods when they fled Syria. Failing to help and protect them is a
stain on the reputation of Egypt and could seriously damage its image as
a key stakeholder in the region.”

Hundreds of refugees who fled
Syria, including scores of children, many of them without their parents,
face ongoing detention in poor conditions or deportation – in some
cases separating family members. Amnesty International found two
one-year-old twins among the refugees being indefinitely detained.

Several
refugees told the organization that they felt compelled to leave Egypt
due to the hostile conditions they face in the country.

The
Egyptian navy has intercepted around 13 boats carrying refugees from
Syria in their attempt to reach Europe. According to the latest figures
from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, 946 people have been arrested by the
Egyptian authorities while attempting the crossing and 724 – women,
children and men – remain in detention.

In most cases, once
arrested people are kept in continued detention under orders of Egypt’s
National Security agency, even after the public prosecution has ordered
their release.

In one case a nine-year-old boy from Aleppo was
arrested on a boat with a family friend. He was detained and denied
access to his mother for four days.

Last week 12 people drowned
when a boat carrying refugees from Syria sank off the coast of
Alexandria. Earlier in October more than 300 people, including several
Syrians, died when their vessel capsized trying to reach the Italian
island of Lampedusa.

One woman, interviewed by Amnesty International, whose husband was detained trying to reach Italy said:
“We
live without hope as the days go past… All I want is to have my husband
back. We want to be settled in any country where we can be safe… [or a]
way to leave Egypt so that we don’t have to use the sea. We cannot live
here anymore.”

During a visit to a police station in Alexandria
last week Amnesty International found approximately 40 refugees from
Syria unlawfully and indefinitely detained there, including 10 children.
The youngest of these were two one-year-old twins who had been held
there since 17 September.

Lawyers also told Amnesty International
they had been prevented from representing refugees detained in police
stations along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. UNHCR does not have access
to the detained refugees.

Refugees arrested face a choice between
accepting deportation or prolonged and unlawful detention. Dozens of
families have been forcibly separated as a result. Lawyers told Amnesty
International that in at least two instances refugees were collectively
deported back to Damascus, Syria.

“Sending refugees back to a
bloody conflict zone is a serious violation of international law.
Refugees who have fled are at an obvious risk of human rights abuses,”
said Sherif Elsayed Ali.

Most recently a group of 36 mostly
Palestinian refugees from Syria were deported to Damascus on 4 October.
Many are believed to have been detained at the Palestine Branch of
Syrian Military Intelligence in Damascus.

Syrian and Palestinian
refugees were accused of being supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and
being complicit in political violence in Egypt following the deposition
of President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July. They face deep stigma and have
been subjected to xenophobic attacks in the media.

In recent
months, the Egyptian authorities have also imposed new restrictions on
Syrian nationals entering Egypt requiring them to obtain visas and
security clearance before they arrive. Amnesty International calls upon
countries in the region to keep their borders open to those fleeing the
conflict and upon the international community to increase the
opportunities for vulnerable refugees to be resettled outside the
region.

“Introducing restrictions that effectively seal off
borders to refugees fleeing war crimes and crimes against humanity in
Syria sends an entirely wrong message. Egypt should be helping Syrians
get back on their feet, not hindering them at every turn,” said Sherif
Elsayed Ali.

Cairo’s streets have been overtaken by a new kind of political
rhetoric. A barrage of hastily scrawled “anti-coup” graffiti covers
walls, billboards, sidewalks, garbage cans, trees — almost any surface
that can be written on or spray-painted.

This new wave of political graffiti is the handiwork of supporters of
deposed President Mohamed Morsi. And it has come to dominate the
political graffiti and street art scene that flourished after the
January 25 uprising, but went dormant after Morsi’s ouster on July 3.

Protests demanding Morsi’s reinstatement clearly denounce the interim
government and the military’s intervention in politics, which
demonstrators call a coup. But above all, they staunchly oppose Defense
Minister Colonel General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who is the target of most
of their graffiti messages.

Anti-coup and pro-Morsi graffiti is perhaps most prevalent in Cairo’s
eastern district of Nasr City, where troops forcefully dispersed the
largest pro-Morsi sit-in outside the Rabea al-Adaweya Mosque on August
14, resulting in more than 600 deaths, thousands of injuries and
hundreds of arrests.

Virtually every street in Nasr City is covered with graffiti denouncing
military rule, the “bloody military coup” and Sisi, whose name has been
abbreviated to the Roman letters CC.

The most common graffiti messages claim that “CC is a traitor,” “CC is a
killer” and “CC is here” — the latter message commonly painted on
garbage cans.

The words “anti-coup” written in English are also seen frequently, as
are “coup = terrorism” and the popular chant by Muslim Brotherhood
supporters: “Depart oh Sisi, Morsi is my president.”

The only form of expression left

On October 6, the Muslim Brotherhood and their allies in the umbrella
group that calls itself the Anti-Coup Alliance organized protests across
the country. When some tried to enter Tahrir Square, they clashed with
security forces and scattered to surrounding neighborhoods, where they
also faced off with residents of the areas.

Marching through Nasr City with a small group of around 100 Morsi
supporters, one protester swiftly spray-painted his graffiti on a
billboard: “Down with military rule.”

The young man refused to be interviewed and angrily demanded that he not be photographed while spray-painting.

Standing by his side, another young Morsi supporter who identified
himself only as Mahmoud said, “They’ve killed and arrested us. They’ve
censored and banned all our media outlets. And so we are left only with
our peaceful protests and peaceful expression.”

According to Mahmoud, “These writings are the means by which we deliver our messages of opposition against the bloody coup.”

Both of them quickly walked away to catch up with the advancing march.
But where is the art?

Meanwhile, the street artists of the 2011 uprising appear to have
either abandoned their art, chosen to remain silent or been forced
underground in the months since mass protests led to the Armed Force’s
removal of the former president.

“Nowadays, the politically charged atmosphere is not conducive to
making attractive or artistic graffiti and murals,” says
Alexandria-based artist Aya Tarek. “Graffiti is presently viewed as
being garbage, something that should be cleaned up or covered up.”

Indeed, authorities have whitewashed older murals and street art
commemorating the 2011 uprising and its subsequent struggles — images
that had become iconic of the fight and those who lost their lives for
it.

For Tarek, the new types of graffiti that are taking the place of the old murals are “more like vandalization rather than art.”

The activists involved in these new graffiti campaigns appear to be
more interested in publicly posting their messages than in the aesthetic
value of their graffiti. In Cairo, they have produced no murals and
very few stencils, forms which became prevalent over the past three
years.

The most common stencils include Morsi’s bearded and bespectacled face
along with the four finger salute signifying Rabea (four) al-Adaweya,
with the letters “R4BIA” beneath the hand.

According to the revolutionary street artist Omar Mostafa, the graffiti
painters of the Brotherhood and Anti-Coup Alliance “use quick freehand
writings.”

“They don’t produce murals or intricate street art, as they are afraid
of being arrested,” he says. “These people don’t have the opportunity to
stand by and prepare a time-consuming mural. If they attempted to do so
they would be attacked by the populace and arrested by the police.”

It does appear to have become more dangerous to make street art in
recent months. On the 40th anniversary of the October 6 War, authorities
arrested the anti-authoritarian and anti-Morsi street artist Ahmed
Naguib as he was painting graffiti critical of the police near Tahrir
Square on Mohamed Mahmoud Street — a veritable open air street art
gallery.

A few weeks earlier, on September 19, security forces arrested two
members of the Ultras White Knights after they spray-painted messages
critical of the police near the Zamalek Sporting Club in Cairo. Security
forces also reportedly arrested a number of Morsi supporters while
painting “anti-coup” messages, but the total number of these arrests is
not known.

But Mostafa doesn’t think the need for speed is an excuse. “They’re
using our earlier paint-and-run tactics. Moreover, their graffiti lacks
originality and artistic value,” he claims.

Mostafa argues that the four-fingered “R4BIA” insignia, especially its
yellow and black colors, was inspired by previous street art associated
with the No to Military Trials campaign.

“Nevertheless, this is their way of expressing themselves following the
crackdown at Rabea, just as we expressed ourselves through street art
and murals of martyrs on Mohamed Mahmoud Street,” after bloody clashes
took place there in 2011 and 2012, he says.
Sectarian street messages

Despite being victims of violent crackdowns, the Anti-Coup Alliance has also produced more divisive and intolerant messages.

Immediately after security forces forcefully dispersed the Rabea and
Nahda Square protest camps, a series of nationwide attacks targeted tens
of churches, Coptic homes and properties.

While the Muslim Brotherhood and its political wing, the Freedom and
Justice Party, officially denounced these sectarian attacks, pro-Morsi
graffiti around the Rabea sit-in carries clear sectarian messages.

Pro-Morsi Islamists condemned the Coptic Pope Tawadros II and the Grand
Sheikh of Al-Azhar for openly siding with General Sisi’s removal of
Morsi.

After the military stepped in on July 3, messages of a sectarian nature
sprung up around Nasr City: “CC is the dog of Tawadros,” along with “CC
is the dog of the cross” and “Down with the pope’s rule.”

Most of these were painted over when sectarian assaults escalated after the August 14 dispersals.
More recently, the symbol of the cross has been replaced by that of the
Jewish Star of David, with newer graffiti reading “CC = Star of David”
or “CC is the agent of Star of David.”
Cat and mouse

Often, graffiti messages from opponents and supporters on both sides
are layered as the political fight plays out on the walls of the city.

Anti-coup graffiti is sometimes painted over altogether. In some cases,
the letters “CC” are visibly crossed out and replaced with “Morsi.”
Other times, words denouncing Sisi are erased while the letters “CC” are
left and placed inside a heart shape.

“Wipe it off and I’ll paint it again” reads one message on the walls where pro-Morsi graffiti was whitewashed.

Around the Ettehadiya Presidential Palace, a military stronghold and
bastion of pro-Sisi sentiments, pro-army graffiti screams “God damn
Rabea” along with an assortment of anti-Morsi messages.

Describing such graffiti as an eyesore, Tarek says, “All these
accusations and curses, back and forth, are merely insults written on
walls, not street art. I wouldn’t even call it graffiti.”

“I want to re-enter and revive the street art scene, using good
materials to make quality art. Yet collective street art events are not
taking place because of the current unrest and instability,” she says.

Tarek aspires to create beautiful art on Egypt’s streets to replace the
now-prevalent political graffiti which is scribbled on walls,
blotched-over and re-painted.

“My work is not political, it is purely artistic,” she says.

Mostafa points out that “the present political situation is unclear and
uncertain. The state’s so-called ‘war on terrorism’ and other
propaganda is being instilled in the populace — so if we are involved in
street art critical of the security forces, then we will be accused of
being members of the Muslim Brotherhood, or terrorists.”

He believes there will be a “resurgence of proper street art in the
near future when the political situation becomes clearer and more
settled.”

Abu Bakr and other street artists are working on a large mural on Qasr
al-Nil Street in downtown Cairo. He insists the street art scene has not
died.

“People need to know who killed the martyrs, and people need art in
their everyday lives — not merely for those who can afford to go to an
enclosed art gallery, but for everybody walking or driving past on the
streets.”

“We are not hiding,” he says, “Anti-graffiti laws will not keep us from expressing ourselves through street art.”

Pair say they were detained for 27 hours after filming working conditions of labourers from balcony of hotel

Monday 14 October 2013

Louise Osborneand Owen Gibson

Two German broadcasters have said they were detained by Qatari
police this month as they attempted to investigate the plight of migrant
labourers building infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup.

Peter
Giesel, a film-maker and the head of a Munich-based production company,
and his cameraman Robin Ahne were detained for 27 hours after filming
the working conditions of labourers from the balcony of the Mercure
Grand hotel in Doha.

The pair were following up on the Guardian's investigation
into the conditions endured by many of the 1.2 million migrant workers
who have flooded into the country to fuel a £100bn-plus construction
boom before the football tournament.

"They said they just wanted
to talk to us, but it wasn't clear about what," Giesel told the
Guardian. "But the interrogations went on for several hours and then the
security police got involved. They were talking about us sparking a
riot by talking to the workers … and that's why we got detained and put
in jail."

The pair, who say they were treated well while in
custody, were told their equipment was being confiscated as they had
been filming without permission.

"We went to the Nepalese embassy
and it was flooded with workers trying to get their passports and
documents back," Giesel said. "They tried to manipulate some of the
footage and erase some. We weren't finished with the shooting in
general, but afterwards I didn't have the nerve for it any more."

Documents
obtained from the Nepalese embassy in Doha revealed last month that at
least 44 Nepalese migrant labourers died between 4 June and 8 August,
more than half from heart attacks, heart failure or workplace accidents.

International
trade unions said up to 4,000 workers could die before a ball is kicked
in 2022 if nothing was done to improve conditions for the workers, many
of whom are heavily in debt and tied to their employers by law.

The Qatar
2022 supreme committee, which is overseeing preparations for the World
Cup and has senior representatives from all the key government
departments to ensure it is aligned with a parallel 2030 masterplan, has
promised to take the issue of worker's rights seriously.

Before a
key meeting of the Fifa executive committee in Zurich this month, the
supreme committee chief executive, Hassan al-Thawadi, said the
tournament would not be "built on the blood of innocents."

Fifa's
president, Sepp Blatter, said he would visit the recently appointed emir
to discuss the issue, but drew criticism from campaign groups for
promising that the World Cup would go ahead regardless and claiming
there was "plenty of time" to resolve any problems.

The
International Trade Union Confederation called the Qatari response to an
international outcry over the issue "weak and disappointing."

Giesel
and Ahne were seized and held on 3 October, at exactly the same time as
Fifa's executive committee was discussing the issue in Zurich.

The
pair were released after friends and family got in touch with the
German embassy in Qatar, prompting the German government's human rights
commissioner to get involved.

Giesel said they had been treated
well and even invited back to Qatar. "They were explaining, saying we
know everything's not right in our country," he said. "But I think I
should go back one day, just to make sure they didn't fool around with
us too much and that what's been said in public there is in some way
true. I can't say I will go back, but I might go back."

The footage shot by the German broadcasters has been acquired by Sky Sports News.

Last
week an 18-strong delegation from the Building and Wood Workers'
International union claimed they had been denied access to a
construction site when they stopped as part of a surprise inspection
visit.

The group was attempting to examine conditions on a
construction site at Lusail, an area 44 miles north of Doha where an
entire new city is being built including the stadium that will host the
2022 World Cup final.

At least 49 people were killed and hundreds
injured in Cairo alone, as security forces used excessive and
unwarranted lethal force to disperse pro-Morsi protesters. According to
eyewitnesses, in some instances, security forces stood by as men in
civilian clothing armed with knives, swords or firearms attacked and
clashed with demonstrators.

“The Egyptian security forces
patently failed to prevent the loss of life. In a number of cases
bystanders or non-violent protesters were caught up in the violence,”
said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for
the Middle East and North Africa.

“Although some pro-Morsi
protesters threw rocks, burned tyres and used fireworks or other
incendiaries against security forces and local residents, the security
forces – once again -resorted to the use of lethal force when it was not
strictly necessary. Excessive use of force seems to have become the
‘normal’ modus operandi of Egyptian security forces.”

Under
international law and standards, security forces should refrain from the
use of firearms unless there is an imminent threat of death or serious
injury.

Amnesty International is calling for a full, impartial and independent investigation into the events on 6 October.

No members of the security forces were killed during the violence.

Security
forces fired tear gas and live rounds to stop two pro-Morsi marches
heading towards Tahrir Square – the epicentre of the “25 January
Revolution” - where pro-army rallies to commemorate the 40th anniversary
of Egypt’s war with Israel were taking place.

In the bloodiest
incident in the Al-Dokki district of Greater Cairo, 30 people were
killed as security forces used teargas, shotguns and live ammunition
against protesters attempting to reach and cross a bridge leading to
Tahrir Square. Eyewitnesses said that armed men in civilian dress
attacked demonstrators, in some cases stabbing them as security forces
looked on. According to mortuary records 27 died as a result of live
ammunition and three others as a result of shotgun pellet wounds the
incident.

At Ibn Sina Hospital, Amnesty International
representatives saw five dead bodies lying on the floor in the reception
area hours after the clashes. A young man in blood-soaked clothes told
the organization that he helped carry several injured protesters to the
hospital in his arms.

Amnesty International also met at least
five people who had been struck in the eye by shotgun pellets and could
go blind or partially blind as a result. Among them was an unemployed
father of two who got caught in the violence in Al-Dokki as he left a
mosque nearby.

“When I got outside, it was chaos. There was lots
of tear gas and [members of the Ministry of] Interior were shooting at
protesters. Men dressed in civilian clothes were beside them... I was
lost and trying to figure out where to run to, when I was shot in the
head with shotgun pellets… There were no ambulances…a guy on a motorbike
drove me to the hospital… I have no money for medical treatment how am I
going to find work and feed my family now?” he said.

Other eyewitnesses present at the site of the clashes also described scenes of mayhem. One told Amnesty International: “We
came under a rain of shotgun pellets and live ammunition… We were then
attacked by ‘thugs’ [men in civilian dress] … Police, soldiers [from the
armed forces] and ‘thugs’ were attacking us all at once…”

A
number of protesters, including one who was shot in the stomach, said
soldiers on foot had attacked the crowd from the side streets in an
apparently coordinated attack.

Sixteen people were shot dead
near Ramsis when security forces used live ammunition to disperse a
pro-Morsi march aiming to reach Tahrir Square. Among those injured was a
16 year-old schoolboy who was shot in the arm and leg. “One bullet went
straight through me and hit the man standing behind me,” he said.

Oum
Sara [mother of Sara], a protester also on the scene said: “There was
heavy teargas lingering in the air, and bullets whizzing by...People
were running away, and security forces were chasing them...We ran with
the crowd, people were falling around us.”

“The Egyptian
security forces have an abysmal track record of using disproportionate
force during protests. The authorities’ utter disregard for
international standards on the lawful use of force suggests that they
are prepared to crackdown on Morsi supporters at any cost,” said Hassiba
Hadj Sahraoui.

At least 1,000 people were killed when security forces dispersed pro-Morsi sit-ins and other protests last August.

Ahead
of 6 October, the Egyptian authorities warned that those protesting
against the army on that day would pose a threat to national security
and would not be considered activists.

“This effectively gave
security forces a green light to commit abuses against protesters. The
Egyptian authorities must ensure that its statements do not appear to
sanction the excessive use of force to avoid further needless blood
being spilled,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

Hundreds were
arrested during the violence or shortly afterwards. Amnesty
International fears that some of those arrested were merely exercising
their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. All those arrested
must either be charged with recognizably criminal offences or released.
Some detainees were held in unofficial places of detention such as riot
police camps. Many were denied access to their lawyers and families.

Amnesty
International calls on the Egyptian authorities to ensure all in
custody are granted immediate access to lawyers, their relatives and any
medical attention they require.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The Guardian

With the network of underground supply tunnels rapidly being shut down, prices have soared for Palestinians in the Strip

Monday 14, October 2013

Harriet Sherwood

In Gaza
City's main market Mohammed Hilis stood disconsolately among piles of
fruit and vegetables, waiting for customers. In the runup to Eid
al-Adha, the second most important festival in the Muslim calendar, the
market was unusually quiet. Steep price rises, unpaid salaries and
layoffs – the consequences of the new Egyptian regime's antipathy
towards Hamas – have been painfully felt by the Gaza Strip.

"A
kilo of tomatoes used to be one shekel [17p]; now it is five shekels.
Most prices have gone up 50 – 60%," said Hilis. "Why? Because of the
costs of transportation, because there is no power to pump water to the
fields, because there is no water. So people buy less." As a result, his
wages have slumped from 30 – 20 shekels a day, playing its small part
in propelling the downward spiral of Gaza's economy.

Six years after Israel
imposed a stranglehold on Gaza as a punitive measure against the Hamas
government, the strip of land along the Mediterranean is facing a new
chokepoint from the south. After the Egyptian military forced President
Mohamed Morsi out of office in July amid a brutal crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood,
the army embarked on a drive to regain control of the anarchic Sinai
peninsula, isolate the Brotherhood's allies in neighbouring Gaza, and
halt the traffic in goods, weapons and people through the tunnels under
the border with the Palestinian territory.

According to the commander of Egypt's border guards force, Major-General Ahmad Ibrahim, almost 800 tunnels have been destroyed by his troops this year.
Hamas is coy about the number of tunnels put out of action. But Hatem
Owida, Gaza's deputy economic minister, said activity had been reduced
by 80-90% since the military takeover in Egypt.

The impact has
been swift and harsh for the people of Gaza. The plentiful supply of
cheap Egyptian fuel has almost dried up; fuel from Israel is both scarce
and twice the price. The fuel crisis has meant Gaza's daily power cuts
now last up to eight hours. Prices of basic foodstuffs have risen,
according to Owida: flour is up 9%; cooking oil 4 – 5%; and sugar 7%

The flow of construction materials has also slowed to a trickle,
reversing a building boom seen in Gaza in the last few years. As a
result of the crisis, Israel has eased its tight restrictions on the
import of cement, gravel and iron, but only about 25% of Gaza's needs
are being met and prices are around 30% higher. And on Sunday, Israel
suspended delivery of construction materials following the discovery of a
tunnel between Gaza and Israel, which it said was intended to be used
to launch an attack.

The impact on the Gazan building industry has
been catastrophic. "This is the second worst year we have known," said
Nabil Abu Muaileq, head of the Palestinian Contractors' Union. Only 2008
– after Israel imposed its blockade – was worse. At least 15,000
construction jobs had been lost, he estimated. "The situation is very
unstable."

According to a paper produced by the economics
ministry, $450m (£280m) was lost to the Gazan economy between mid-June
and the end of August as a result of the tunnels closures. More than a
quarter of a million jobs have been lost across all sectors, with
construction, services, transport and storage, manufacturing and
agriculture taking big hits. It is a massive blow to an economy which
had been showing small signs of growth.

Now, the beleaguered and
overcrowded Gaza Strip faces a new economic free fall. The Hamas
government's income has slumped, having lost nearly all its revenue from
the taxes imposed on goods brought through the tunnels. "We cannot deny
we are affected badly," said Owida. "We've lost about 30% of our
income."

Around 47,000 government employees were paid only half
their salaries for August, and had received nothing for September,
although some payment was expected before the start of Eid.

The
new regime in Cairo has also closed the Rafah crossing for long periods,
the only exit from Gaza to Egypt. According to Gisha, an Israeli
organisation that monitors the movement of people and goods in and out
of Gaza, the number of people leaving through Rafah has fallen by 76%
since July.

Although Israel has
increased by 24% the much smaller number of permits it grants to exit
through the Erez crossing at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, there
are still thousands of Palestinians trapped in Gaza: patients unable to
access medical treatment; students unable to take up university places;
expatriate Gazans unable to return to jobs in the Gulf states and
elsewhere.

Fida'a Abu Assi, 25, was supposed to enrol at the University of
Indianapolis by the 26 August for a masters in international relations,
for which she had won a rare scholarship. On 7 October, the deadline for
entry to the US detailed on her documentation, she was still in Gaza
City, unable to leave either via Rafah or Erez.

"I blame Israel
because they make our lives hell, and I blame Egypt for closing the
Rafah border. They know there are students, patients, businessmen
trapped here. People's lives are not a game. They are collectively
punishing us," she said. "Every time you think things are getting better
in Gaza, it gets worse again. You learn not to have any expectations."

Gaza's
oldest travel agency, Shurafa Tours, has been dealing with the
practical consequences of closures for decades. "People feel they are in
a big prison. Every movement needs a permit, there is no schedule for
when the crossings will be open, people just have to wait," said the
manager, Nabil al-Shurafa, adding that some travellers were rebooking
tickets three or four times at huge expense.

The military takeover
in Egypt, and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, has had a
significant political, as well as economic, impact. "Yes, it's a blow to
Hamas," said Taher al-Nounou, an official in the Palestinian movement.

In
the past two years, Hamas has loosened its ties with its former
sponsors and allies – Iran, Syria and Hezbollah – while investing hope
and expectation in the regional rise of the Muslim Brotherhood. The
strategy now appears to have backfired.

"The isolation imposed on
Hamas and the Gaza Strip is now even worse than in the summer of 2007,"
said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at Al-Azhar University
Gaza, referring to the period after Hamas took control of the Strip 18
months after winning elections. In an indication of the chill winds felt
by the movement, Hamas leaders have largely gone to ground since the
Egyptian coup, rarely travelling and making relatively few public
appearances.

"The issue is not just about Egypt and Hamas; the
whole region is now becoming more hostile to Islamists," said Abusada.
"Hamas looks at this as a new siege of Gaza. And people on the street
are sick and tired of being kept in a cage. The situation here could be
on the verge of collapse.

CAIRO: Egyptian police said on Monday they had arrested a Briton in the restive north Sinai town of El-Arish in possession of "a black jacket and trousers" similar to police uniforms.

The 44-year-old also had a laptop with a picture of a man suspected of belonging to the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas that rules neighbouring Gaza, a police statement said.

The
statement said police searched for the man after receiving reports of
"a foreigner who frequents cafes and mixes with citizens".

"He was found in possession of a black jacket, black trousers and a pair of shoes suspected of being a Central Security Forces uniform," the statement said, adding he also had two mobile phones along with the laptop.

Wearing clothes that resemble police or military uniforms can lead to arrest in Egypt.

The statement came a day after an American man arrested in north Sinai in August hanged himself in a jail cell.

James Lunn
had been detained for violating a curfew imposed in August as security
forces battled loyalists of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Daily News Egypt

Ministry of Interior claimed he is in custody and still alive, now claiming that he drowned to death

October 13, 2013

Mostafa Salem

El-Nadeem Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence proclaimed
on Wednesday that a detained student was tortured to death after being
arrested and sent to Al-Salam Camp on 6 October.

The deceased is Omar Mohamed Khalifa Al-Sayed, a 21 year old
engineering student who partook in the 6 October Pro-Morsi protests last
Sunday near Qasr Al-Einy Street.

The Ministry of Interior stated on Friday that “Khalifa is detained
under the jurisdiction of Qasr Al-Nil police station after partaking in
the 6 October protests, a case was filed and media reports about his
death are false, the student is in good health”

Al-Nadeem centre said that the Ministry of Interior told the Khalifa’s parents that he drowned to his death.
Last month, a French citizen who was detained for breaking the curfew
in Zamalek, was attacked by his cellmates and later died of his
injuries, in the same police station where Khalifa allegedly died.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights condemned on Tuesday the
brutality faced by many detainees and called on the officials
responsible for their safety to be investigated, claiming that 24
individuals have died over the past year within Egyptian prisons.

The Front to Defend Egypt’s Protestors recorded the arrest of Khalifa
as detainee number 81, case file number 9993 Qasr Al-Nil Misdemeanors .

ABC News

An American man was found hanged in a jail cell on Sunday in a police station near the banks of the Suez Canal.

The man, identified by the U.S. state department as 66-year-old James
Lunn, had apparently committed suicide. He had been arrested on August
29 for breaking the curfew put in place amid the violent unrest that
followed the military's ousting of President Mohammed Morsi in early
July.

The American embassy in Cairo confirmed the death to ABC News, saying he
died of "apparent suicide." The State Department also issued
confirmation of the death today, and said that his family has been
contacted.

Egypt officials had identified Lunn as a retired U.S. Army officer, but
the U.S. State Department said Sunday that he was not a veteran.

Lunn was found after breakfast was served in the Ismailia police
station, hung from the bathroom door of his prison cell, Egypt's public
prosecutor said. A black belt wrapped around his neck was attached with
string to both his shoes, which were tangled up on the other side of the
door, according to the prosecutor.

The statement said that blood was
seen coming from his nose and that he had already died when they found
him.

His body was then sent to the morgue at the main hospital in the city
for an autopsy. Egypt's public prosecutor has now ordered an official
investigation into the death.

Lunn had been living alone in a town called Sheikh Zuwayed in the
northeast of the Sinai Peninsula, Egyptian state news agency MENA
reported at the time of his arrest. He was reportedly on his way to the
Palestinian Gaza Strip when he was arrested for breaking the 9 a.m. to 6
p.m. curfew.

Lunn had been arrested for breaking curfew in the Sheikh Zuweyid area,
where a terrorist operation was carried out targeting a police station
with a car bomb, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office.
Authorities found him in possession of an Egyptian map and an electronic
device that's currently being examined.

A consular team from the embassy had visited him at the jail last week
but the embassy declined to say what Lunn was doing in the Sinai, the
most violent part of the country.

Since Morsi was deposed, the already lawless Sinai has grown
increasingly bloody. The ouster was followed by a military and police
crackdown and there have been almost daily attacks against security
targets by Islamic militants. On Friday, three soldiers and one
policeman were killed when a suicide bomber drove a car bomb into a
checkpoint.

“We were beaten, we
were housed in very cramped conditions, sleeping on the concrete with
cockroaches,” he said. “We sometimes despaired, sometimes quarreled.”

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and other government officials waged an aggressive campaign for their release, which came last weekend.

But they were
prevented from boarding a flight out of the country that same day after
their names appeared on a “stop-list” issued by prosecutors.

Badr Abdel-Atty,
Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman, said the two were accused of
participating in illegal protests and or resisting authorities during
arrest, like many others during a protest by supporters of ousted
Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.

But Abdel-Atty said Thursday that accusations against them had been dropped and the pair had been cleared to leave Egypt.

The two Canadians said
Loubani heeded a call for a doctor and began treating wounded
demonstrators while Greyson recorded the unrest on video.

The two have said they
only intended to stay overnight in Cairo on their way to Gaza and
acknowledged on Friday it was unwise for them to take a look at the
protests in the Egyptian capital.

“In hindsight it’s
really obvious we made mistakes,” Loubani said, who admitted they
misjudged how Egyptian authorities would view their actions.

Loubani said he
learned some practical things during their imprisonment such as how to
make a jailhouse kettle out of “two nails, two bottle caps and some
wire.”

“I can show you if you’re interested,” he said to reporters.

He also said they
learned to make an alcoholic drink out of macaroni and sugar:
“Incredibly strong — just boil it, let it ferment for three days.”

Greyson did touch on politics in their news conference following their arrival in Toronto.

“We call out the
collusion of Western powers seemingly unwilling to denounce military
violence against peaceful citizens, and perhaps most crucially on the
ongoing role of billions in U.S. military aid ... that is helping return
Egypt to a nightmare of military dictatorship,” Greyson said.

11 October 2013

Today’s shipwreck off the coast of Alexandria that drowned at least 12
people, many believed to be refugees from Syria, highlights the crushing
life-and-death decisions facing many who fled to Egypt to escape
Syria’s armed conflict, Amnesty International said.

The
organization is due to launch a briefing next week on the plight of
refugees from Syria in Egypt, and currently has a delegation on the
ground researching the situation.

“Our research has shown how
the backdrop to today’s terrible boat accident is a much wider tragedy.
Refugees from Syria are compelled to risk life and limb yet again in
Egypt after facing arbitrary arrests, detentions and increased
hostility,” said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty International's Head of
Refugee and Migrants' Rights.

“Refugees from Syria have fled the
depths of despair to seek safety in Egypt. But instead of providing
shelter and hope for a new life, the Egyptian authorities’ actions are
compelling many refugees from Syria into life-threatening situations,
including entrusting their lives to smugglers in order to make the
perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.”

According to
media reports, at least 100 people were rescued from today’s shipwreck
and taken to a naval base and then to a police station in Alexandria. It
is unknown what will happen to them next.

A second boat carrying migrants from Tunisia to Italy also reportedly sank off the coast of the island of Lampedusa today.

9 October 2013

A detailed report into the attacks targeting Coptic Christian
communities in August reveals the extent of the failure of the security
services to protect the minority group, said Amnesty International.

The new report
published today examines events during the unprecedented wave of
sectarian attacks in the wake of the dispersal of two pro-Morsi sit-ins
in Cairo on 14 August.

It details how security forces failed to
prevent angry mobs attacks on Christian churches, schools and charity
buildings, setting them ablaze and razing some to the ground. At least
four people were killed.

“It is deeply disturbing that the
Christian community across Egypt was singled out for revenge attacks
over the events in Cairo by some supporters of the deposed president,
Mohamed Morsi,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s
Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“In light of
previous attacks, particularly since Morsi’s outsing on 3 July, a
backlash against Coptic Christians should have been anticipated, yet
security forces failed to prevent attacks or intervene to put an end to
the violence.”

Amnesty International urges the Egyptian
authorities to conduct an impartial, independent investigation into
these sectarian attacks, and to take immediate steps to prevent their
recurrence. A comprehensive strategy to fight discrimination against
religious minorities must be devised and implemented. Discriminatory
laws and policies must be repealed.

“Failure to bring to justice
those responsible for sectarian attacks sends the message that Copts and
other religious minorities are fair game. The authorities must make it
absolutely clear that sectarian attacks will not be tolerated,” said
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

More than 200 Christian-owned properties
were attacked and 43 churches were seriously damaged across the country
in the aftermath of events on 14 August.

One Coptic Christian from
the governorate of Fayoum described his dismay at the violence: “Why is
it when there is a problem, Christians always pay the price? What do we
have to do with the events in Cairo to be punished like this?”

Amnesty
International visited sites of the sectarian violence in Al-Minya,
Fayoum and Greater Cairo to gather evidence from eyewitnesses, local
officials and religious leaders.

In several instances residents
said mobs of angry men armed with firearms, metal bars and knives had
ransacked churches and Christian properties. Many chanted slogans such
as “God is Great” or used derogatory terms like “you Christian dogs” as
they launched their attacks.

Historical and religious relics were
desecrated. Graffiti left scrawled upon walls in the aftermath of the
attacks included slogans such as “Morsi is my President” and “They
killed our brothers during prayer”.

The messages leave little
doubt as to the sectarian nature of the attacks and link the events
firmly to the crackdown against Morsi supporters in Cairo. Attacks were
frequently preceded by incitement from local mosques and religious
leaders.

“Given the fact that these attacks were in retaliation
for the crackdown on pro-Morsi sit-ins, the leadership of the Muslim
Brotherhood said too little too late, and laid the blame on ‘thugs’
distancing their supporters from the attacks” said Hassiba Hadj
Sahraoui. “They must condemn their supporters’ actions and urge them to
refrain from sectarian attacks and the use of sectarian language.”

In
Al-Minya, where most of the attacks occurred, a journalist, Zeinab
Ismail, who witnessed scenes of violence, said attackers were armed with
machetes and swords.

Some residents were attacked in their homes.
The body of a 60-year-old Coptic Christian man shot dead at home in the
village of Delga in Al-Minya, was later dragged through the streets by a
tractor. After he was buried his grave was dug up twice.

“Any
investigation must also examine the role of the security forces. Some
incidents lasted for hours and recurred in subsequent days,” said
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. “Why were the security forces unable to prevent
and put an end to such attacks?”

There is a long history of abuse
and discrimination against Coptic Christians in Egypt. A litany of
attacks occurred under Hosni Mubarak, military rule and Mohamed Morsi.

The
release of Amnesty International’s new briefing coincides with the
second anniversary of a bloody crackdown by the armed forces on
protesters, outside the state television building known as Maspero in
Cairo on 9 October 2011, in which 26 Coptic Christians protesters and a
Muslim were killed.

Impunity for these attacks is entrenched. For
Maspero, only three low-ranking soldiers were sentenced to prison terms
between two and three years for manslaughter.

‘Reconciliation
sessions’ – the favoured method by authorities to resolve sectarian
disputes in Egypt – have so far only consolidated the feelings of
injustice among minority communities and allowed perpetrators to walk
free. Proper mechanisms to protect religious minorities and safeguard
their rights must instead be introduced.

“For too long the
Christians of Egypt have borne the brunt of sectarian violence. This
pattern of inaction by the authorities must change,” said Hassiba Hadj
Sahraoui.

“Words of condemnation must be backed up by concrete
steps to provide adequate protection to religious minorities. The state
must ensure full reparation, including financial compensation, to the
victims of sectarian attacks.

The rebuilding of places of worship must
be also be prioritized and legal obstacles to building churches
immediately repealed. Without such concrete measures, Coptic Christians,
once again, would just have been used as an excuse to settle political
scores.”

Background

Successive governments
have failed to address discrimination and targeting of religious
minorities in Egypt. Under Hosni Mubarak at least 15 major attacks
against Copts were documented. Following the fall of Mubarak, under the
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, deadly sectarian clashes continued
to take place. The situation also failed to improve under Mohamed Morsi,
attacks against Copts continued and anti-Christian rhetoric was stepped
up. Christian communities have for decades faced legal and bureaucratic
hurdles to build and restore places of worship.

The EU has put on hold arms shipments to Egypt, while the US continues
to support the Egyptian military. Defense contractors in the US stand to
profit.

Oct. 8, 2013

It seemed to be a difficult answer for Barack Obama. The US president
appeared to weigh every word when he was asked during a TV interview in
August why the US has not cut military aid to Egypt.

"What we’re doing right now is a full evaluation of the US-Egyptian
relationship," he replied. "There’s no doubt that at this point we’ve
got to take a look and see what is in the interest of the Egyptian
people, and what is in the interest of the United States."

The US annually sends Egypt $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euros) in aid
funds, and a hefty $1.3 billion of that goes to the military. Military
aid has been under criticism since Egypt's military ousted President Mohammed Morsi
in July – but the US government has held firm. Observers say the US
could lose its military privileges in the region if it cuts aid, thereby
endangering America's security interests.

Obama did not breathe a word about a little-known aspect of the military
aid: the program is not only of political significance but it's also
closely linked to the interests of the US arms industry, and backed by a
powerful lobby.

The money never reaches Egypt

Under a military aid agreement, the aid for Egypt in fact never leaves
the United States. As soon as the US Congress approves the payments, the
money goes to an account at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. The
bank transfers the aid to a trust fund at the Treasury, and from there
to US military contractors and suppliers.

The contracting parties, some of them multinational groups with
subsidiaries in the US, must be based in the US and it is essential that
they employ personnel in the US. As a result, the financial aid does
not go to Cairo, but to America's heartland, creating more or less
state-subsidized jobs.

Impact on employment

US military aid in Egypt dates back to the 1979 Egypt-Israeli Peace
Treaty. Egypt, the most populous country in the Arab World, is regarded
as an important pillar of US foreign policies in the Arab world, not
least due to the strategically important Suez Canal, controlled by Egypt
and connecting the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Over the decades, the aid to Egypt was often questioned in the US
Congress, said Shana Marshall, a political scientist at the Institute
for Middle East Studies at George Washington University. When someone
raises an objection to the military assistance program, which is once
every few years, "usually the defense industry will send a team of
lobbyists to visit different people in Congress to make the argument
that the military assistance should continue, " she said.

"This argument is based not only on these sort of geostrategic questions
but also on the number of jobs and production lines that may be put at
risk if the military assistance program were to be scratched."

Tanks in storage

This year, the debate had an additional domestic component: since the
spring, the US has been grappling with deep budget cuts aimed at
reducing the budget deficit. The US military is one of the hardest-hit
sectors. Production of new military hardware has been cut back, and that
in turn affects the arms industry. Some companies, fearful of having to
dismiss highly qualified workers who might move on to other sectors,
have demanded contracts in arms exports as a "trade-off." It is not
clear in how far such demands are met by the state.

What is clear, however, is that not all military hardware the Egyptian
military purchases with US funds is actually needed and used. "There are
tanks that are just sitting in warehouses in Egypt right now," said
Jason Brownlee, an expert on US-Egyptian relations at the University of
Texas. "Overall, there’s not a compelling argument for providing a lot
more traditional hardware to the Egyptian military."

US government is a signatory

Experts agree that the US benefits politically from the partnership with
Egypt. The extent of aid payments is comparatively small in view of the
many privileges the country enjoys in the region. The needs of the
domestic arms companies - despite their great influence - most likely
play a minor role in the decision of whether to continue the military
aid.

What if the payments were stopped for political reasons? The US
government is a co-signatory in the Egyptian military's contracts with
US companies. Washington guarantees the weapons will be sold. "To offset
their loss in that case, US arms firms that had very lucrative
contracts with Egypt would probably simply receive similar contracts
with other countries, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Somalia,"
Marshall says.

In Obama's August TV interview, the interviewer seemed satisfied with
the president's evasive answer. Obama last commented on the Egyptian aid
in a speech to the United Nations last month. He repeated that
relations were still under review. The last aid payment for 2013 was
assigned at the beginning of this month.

Currently, the government shutdown
has benn dominating US headlines. Public interest in the aid to Egypt
has decreased and the pressure on Obama has lessened. So the military
assistance continues, much as it has for more than 30 years, to the
benefit of the Egyptian military and the US armament industry.